China unveils space station this in 2020| China's been making its mark on the world for years, but there's still one massive piece of real estate where the country's citizens haven't hung their ubiquitous red flag: space. The China Manned Space Engineering Office hopes to change that within the next decade, however, unveiling a model of its first space station on Monday.
Officials have asked the public to suggest names and symbols for the unit and for a cargo spacecraft that will serve it.Professor Jiang Guohua, from the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre, said the facility would be designed to last for around a decade and support three astronauts working on microgravity science, space radiation biology and astronomy.
China’s rendezvous and docking (RVD) project is the next goal of China’s manned space program, said Jiang Guohua, a professor and chief engineer at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Beijing.
Jiang outlined China’s space station efforts here at the 15th annual International Space University symposium, titled The International Space Station: Maximizing the Return from Extended Operations.
The Tiangong design is designed for short tasks or limited overnight stays in a pressurized shirtsleeve environment, while the heavier Chinese stations planned for several years from now will be for longer term habitation.
In addition to the manned program, the Chinese unmanned program has also reached a major milestone with the Chang'e lunar orbiter.
in 2010-2011, before the rover and sample return missions are flown a Chinese-technology mission may be sent to the Moon to further demonstrate landing technologies. But the Chinese were not clear on whether it would go all the way to the surface.
